“Steering clear of a do-or-die showdown with LG”: Ace Oller takes the mound as KIA mounts an all-out pitching effort to lock up third

[Financial News]  There is no tomorrow. The Tigers are putting everything they have into today’s one-game showdown with the Lotte Giants. KIA Tigers have made their final move to secure third place in the regular-season standings and advance directly to the Semi-playoffs, sending ‘ace’ Adam Oller to the mound as their starter.
If KIA beat Lotte at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on the 11th, they will clinch third place regardless of the result of their final regular-season game against the LG Twins, scheduled for the 12th. After beating SSG Landers the previous day and reducing their magic number for third to ‘1,’ KIA now need just one more win.
The bench decided to confront the challenge head-on. Oller, who had been weighing whether to pitch in the final game, will start against Lotte today. The bench’s cool calculation was that taking the fight for third all the way to the final day against LG, the defending champions regarded as the strongest team of the 2020s, carried more risks than rewards. If they try to save their pitchers and end up getting caught out by Lotte, they could find themselves in an irrecoverable hole.
Oller has quietly fulfilled the role of the team’s No. 1 starter, appearing in 29 games this season and recording 11 wins, nine losses and a 3.03 ERA. Above all, he has fond memories of throwing a nine-inning, shutout complete game against Lotte on April 24 of the preceding April. The plan is to capitalize on his dominance against Lotte and put the finishing touch on clinching third place today.



If KIA lose today and fall to fourth place or lower, sending them to the wild card decider, it would deal a serious blow to their pitching plans for the postseason. The rest for their one-two punch of James Naile and Oller would shrink sharply to just 3–4 days, leaving them at a major disadvantage in the starting-pitcher battle, a key factor in a short series. By contrast, if they clinch third today and secure the first spot in the Semi-playoffs, Naile would get seven days of rest and Oller five—ample, welcome time off before taking the stage this fall.
Every available pitcher is waiting for the call to take the mound. The entire high-leverage bullpen corps, including closer Jeon Sang-hyun, will be ready in the bullpen regardless of whether they have pitched on consecutive days. It is a desperate all-out effort on the mound, with no thought for tomorrow. Only by winning today can KIA afford to rest its key pitchers in the final game on the 12th and prepare for the postseason. Otherwise, they will face the worst-case scenario: an all-out pitching effort against LG with their backs to the wall.
The ace card was played to avoid a tense, do-or-die showdown. KIA will look to use Lotte as a stepping stone in Gwangju...


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